‘I’m glad you find it amusing.’ Daisy suppressed a giggle with difficulty. She doubted whether her aunt and uncle would see the funny side to their predicament, and she did not want to make matters worse when they were obviously in a state of distress. She hurried over to them. ‘Perhaps if Toby and I were to walk to the village we might find someone to help.’

‘Yes, yes, whatever you wish,’ Sidney said irritably. ‘For heaven’s sake go and sit in the waiting room, Eleanora. I’ll stay with you while the youngsters look for a suitable conveyance.’

The stationmaster was about to walk away when he paused, cocking his head on one side. ‘Someone is coming, so you might be in luck, ladies and gentlemen.’ He hurried off in the direction of the ticket office.

‘I can hear the rumble of carriage wheels,’ Daisy said eagerly. ‘Toby and I will go and see what we can do.’ She followed the stationmaster with Toby striding along at her side.

‘I’m glad I came, if only for the show.’ Toby was first through the gate, but he came to a sudden halt. ‘Well, I’ll be blowed, look who it is.’ He rushed over to the man who leaped off the box, handing the reins to the messenger boy who had been loitering by the ticket office.

‘It’s you,’ Daisy said dazedly. ‘What a strange coincidence.’

Toby released his friend, turning to Daisy with raised eyebrows. ‘Do you two know each other?’

Nick Neville smiled and bowed. ‘Miss Marshall, delighted to meet you again, although I’m astonished to find you and Toby here in Little Creek.’

‘We bumped into each other outside Uncle’s shop when I arrived home before Christmas,’ Daisy said by way of explanation. ‘I meant to tell you, Toby, but with the move and everything I forgot to mention it.’

‘Instantly forgettable, that’s me,’ Nick said, chuckling.

‘But what are you doing here, old boy?’ Toby demanded, grinning. ‘I thought you said you were going home to sort out some family matters.’

‘And that’s what I’m doing. My father died a couple of months ago, leaving Creek Hall to me. I’ve been down here since before Christmas, trying to get things straight, but it’s an uphill task.’

‘I knew your pa was a doctor in rural Essex, but I thought it was Colchester or thereabouts.’ Toby gazed at his friend in amazement.

‘I used to tell people it was Colchester because no one had ever heard of Little Creek, and it saved a lot of explaining. I’m not ashamed of my roots; I suppose it was just laziness.’ Nick smiled ruefully. ‘Anyway, I might set up a practice in Little Creek. The people in the village seem to rely on an ageing midwife, or else they have to travel the eleven miles to Maldon.’

‘But you’d hardly scrape a living, old boy.’

Daisy nudged her brother in the ribs. ‘It’s none of your business, Toby.’

‘But it is, Daisy. There’s no money working in an out-of-the-way place like this, and Nick was the top student in our year.’